The MND Association issued a Press Release today for the Giro di Muscoli. Jan came up with the idea of the Chris Froome connection.

Thank you to Vicky at MNDA for sending this to national and local news and cycling organisations.

If you’d like to help combat this terrible disease then either register to ride a Stage or two of the Giro or make a donation. Thank you.

Desperately seeking Chris Froomes

A man taking on a mammoth 1400 mile cycle in June is calling for fellow cyclists to join him on route as he raises money to fight motor neurone disease (MND).

Colin Fisher, 59, from Islington, will pedal from Islington to Fano, via Arnhem and the Alps, in honour of his friend, Gerben Gravendeel who was diagnosed with MND in 2015.

Determined to do something to help, Colin created the epic Grand Tour style event named Giro Di Muscoli. He’s now recruiting others to ride any of the five stages of the Giro to support his challenge and raise even more funds for MND.

Colin said: “I may share the same initials as Chris Froome and ride a bike, but that’s where the similarity ends. MND is a very isolating disease for patients and their families so I’m calling on the cycling family to join me to help raise money to combat this terrible disease.”

Despite Gerben living 300 miles away in Arnhem, the pair have remained firm friends since meeting in 2006. It was important for Colin to include a pit stop on the Giro to see Gerben in Arnhem as he was the inspiration for the event. Although he’s unable to join in the cycle, Gerben has his own aim for the ride:
“Colin’s challenge is to complete the Giro di Muscoli – my challenge is to stay alive long enough to see him do it.”

MND (also known as ALS) is a fatal, rapidly progressing disease which affects the brain and spinal cord. It attacks the nerves that control movement and eventually leaves people unable to move, communicate or breathe. It kills a third of people within a year of diagnosis and half within two years. There is no cure.

The Giro will raise money for three MND charities across Europe, the MND Association based in England, Stichting ALS in the Netherlands and AISLA in Italy.

Cyclists can join Colin at the Grand Depart, pedalling from Islington to Harwich on Saturday 6th June. The ride heads to Arnhem to see Gerben and continues through cities such as Utecht, Bormio and Milan on route to its final destination of Fano on 21 June – Global MND Awareness Day.

For full details about the stages of the Giro di Muscoli and to register your interest, please visit girodimuscoli.com

ENDS

Picture caption:
1 – Colin Fisher
2 – Jan Fisher, Gerben Gravendeel, Jeanne Gravendeel and Colin Fisher after Giro Di Muscoli planning meeting in 2019

For media enquiries: Email vicky.payne@mndassociation.org or call Vicky on 01604 6111687
For Giro Di Muscoli enquries: Email Colin Fisher on colin@fisherjc.com

Giro di Muscoli in numbers:
Over 2,300 km / 19,000m climbing
15 stages
16 days (1 rest day)
6th – 21st June 2020 (finishing on ALS/MND Global Day)

About the MND Association:

Please note that style wise motor neurone disease is lower case and then abbreviated to MND. The Motor Neurone Disease Association can be shortened to the MND Association, or the Association but never the MNDA.

The MND Association was founded in 1979 by a group of volunteers with experience of living with or caring for someone with MND. We are the only national charity in England, Wales and Northern Ireland focused on MND care, research and campaigning.

We improve care and support for people with MND, their families and carers.

We fund and promote research that leads to new understanding and treatments, and brings us closer to a cure for MND.

We campaign and raise awareness so the needs of people with MND and everyone who cares for them are recognised and addressed by wider society.

About motor neurone disease (MND):

MND is a fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord.
It attacks the nerves that control movement so muscles no longer work. MND does not usually affect the senses such as sight, sound, feeling etc. 
It can leave people locked in a failing body, unable to move, talk and eventually breathe.
Over 80% of people with MND will have communication difficulties, including for some, a complete loss of voice. 
It affects people from all communities.
Around 35% of people with MND experience mild cognitive change, in other words, changes in thinking and behaviour. A further 15% of people show signs of frontotemporal dementia which results in more pronounced behavioural change. 
It kills a third of people within a year and more than half within two years of diagnosis. 
A person’s lifetime risk of developing MND is around 1 in 300.
Six people per day are diagnosed with MND in the UK. 
It affects up to 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time. 
It kills six people per day in the UK, this is just under 2,200 per year.
It has no cure.

Vicky Payne
Communications Officer
Motor Neurone Disease Association
Francis Crick House, 6 Summerhouse Road,
Moulton Park, Northampton, NN3 6BJ, UK
Tel: 01604611687
vicky.payne@mndassociation.org
www.mndassociation.org